Another race, another argument

Krashrak the Stalker

in the concept art he looked even more like a Predator.

In the 41st millennium, they'd have switched their 'fair game' tactics up to use more powerful weaponry.

I doubt they'd be much of a concern on the galactic scale. They'd try and stay out of the way of the Inquisition and avoid any major conflicts, and any species that hunted humans on a large scale would have been wiped out in the Great Crusade. Especially close to Terra.
So, they may not even have a homeworld or empire, and just ply the stars looking for targets to hunt.

They may well inhabit space hulks, hunting Orks and Genestealers, and hoping that they get to pick on Space Marine Terminators one day.

They'd be great for a kill team.

Kroot with Stealth equipment.

see, this is exactly what I meant. not the bare stats, how they work, how they function in the setting etc.

Stronger, tougher Kroot with Networked Markerlights, plasma pistols, stealthsuit equipment, and some ignore cover shenanigans (thermal vision).

The Kroot are already a technological advanced species that nevertheless embraces primitivism as a philosophy and way of life, searching for new meals to improve their DNA.

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>Literally could not solo a Catachan or an old, burned-out Arbites what makes you think they could ever take on a Space Marine?
beat me to it. If Arnie and Danny Glover can take one, then a Space Marine would be able to take one in a straight fight.

They can't. Predators are shit-tier by 40k standards and even a basic squad of Eldar would turn them into reptilian sushi. Anything worth hunting in 40k has a bigger chance of killing the Yautja than the Yautja has a chance of killing it. Just look at fucking Genestealers, which make Xenomorphs look like THEY'RE the cheap knockoffs given how inferior they are to their blatant expy's.

Fuck even Kroot are worse than Predators thanks to their ability to absorb DNA.

The Great Crusade would force them to change up their tactics. They'd operate similar to the Rak'Gol, using one of the less hospitable portions of the galaxy as a home while groups of them went out to hunt and kill. They probably wouldn't operate solo given that the universe would be much more dangerous for them but instead use teams to hunt much larger game. Their love of collecting skulls would probably also bring them to the attention of Khorne as he becomes a resurgent force in the world as his influence of their culture gets stronger and they become more savage and insane they'd probably get picked up en masse for some big Chaos crusade as mercenaries and their entire race would descend on a sub-sector. And then the main-character would fight the novel's big bad and win and you'd never hear of them again.

>Anything worth hunting in 40k has a bigger chance of killing the Yautja than the Yautja has a chance of killing it.
To be fair, that's what would make it a badass hunt.

You forget, they're sport hunters. The technology shown is ceremonial hunting gear for xenomorphs and a barely-developed technological species.

They'd gear up to the fucking teeth to hunt space marines on a reasonably level playing field.
Chaos worship, maybe. I'm sure Khorne wouldn't mind day-glo green blood.

>predators hunt things
Were you really unable to figure this out on your own?

Keep them as they are, just make some of their weapons force weapons and their plasma caster more powerful.

Limit them mostly to the fluff and RPGs.

>I dont know anything about yautja lore

The ones in the movies were youngbloods, a blooded hunter could easily take a single marine.

>The Tau align with them with an offer to give them the most dangerous game to hunt.

>The Yautja effectively become the Tau empires assassin caste.

dont be absurd.
How do they move throughout the galaxy, do the use the warp? do they even have a warp presence, how do they maintain their society? Have they managed to stay concealed so far? are they known by the Inquisition as a real threat, or simply as some bogeymen myths?

These are the things I want to see speculated.

Why would you need to invent shit?
It's all already written or it writes itself.

because I am not an expert on 40K lore, and I thought phrasing it like this would be more interesting then the generic "how would X do if suddenly dumped into the 40K universe"

Op was bored so decided to create a pedantic thread with obvious answers

>minor race uplifted by the old ones
>strong warlike culture with emphasis on advancement, either physical or spiritual, through personal, often brutal, confrontation
>almost dying out by the end of the war in heaven
>small groups survive scavenging what they can from the remains of their lost society now reverted to more ritualistic ways
>rudimentary but practical knowledge of their tech, including plasma, intelligent weaponry, prior minor bioengineering capabilities almost now restricted to efficient selective breeding and taming techniques; used the webway of the old ones to navigate, now more limited, instead of travelling through already solid paths in it, their drives build ephemeral bridges that collapse shortly after their passage, allowing fast, efficient and stealth travels at the expense of the required small size of the ships using this method, otherwise they use the webway/warp gates still functioning on their planets or ask for passages from other races, mainly the imperium and the eldar
>philosophically enlightened they accepted the fall of their race as an inevitable part of existence and live their life with a way if thinking revolving around what they can do rather than what they could do
>albeit savage looking and subconsciously driven to satisfy an millions old instinct to hunt they are reasonable enough to come to terms with other races to sell their warrior prowess for the protection of their worlds and other services, often banding as mercenaries of dark eldar and inquisitorial forces
>certain magos suggest there's a faint genetic link between this race and the kroots of the eastern fringe, while this hypothesis is paradoxical given the distance of their homeworlds and the age of both races, requiring the action of a greater outside agent, it is undoubted that these two races hold a strange brotherhood in terms of behaviors and beliefs, showing an intrinsic sportive rivalry in the reports where both races were present

>below average psychic presence with individuals displaying psychic peaks during the later stages of lives and acting as shaman and teachers in their culture showing small clairvoyant, telepathic and telekinetic powers
>they do not have gods, but worship the dead progenitors (not necessarily referring to their biological parents), hold in consideration the deaths they cause themselves and keep as sacred the interaction between birth, struggle and death; deviations from this cycle are seen as taboo, for these reasons chaos influence is rare
>present history sees their interaction with the tyranids: being both attracted and repulsed by the incoming intergalactic apex predator, perhaps misconceiving the tyranid menace as a whole; many prophets have foretold the struggle against the great serpent as the last one.

>How do they move throughout the galaxy

Yautja have FTL tech good enough to easily travel the milky way at least.

>how do they maintain their society?

Matriarchal, Yautja women are much larger and more physically imposing than the males and run everything that doesnt have to do with the hunt,

Hunting is done for reasons that are a combination of tradition, natural selection, winning glory for higher status mates, and to keep the men sharp and occupied.

>Have they managed to stay concealed so far?

Yes Yautja are the kings of cloaking tech it stands to reason they wont be known in a bungling administration like the imperium except to a few survivors and probably some in the inquisition.

>Are they known by the Inquisition as a real threat, or simply as some bogeymen myths?

Bogeyman myth probably, Yautja dont like going to war they consider humans sacred prey because were actually quite dangerous on the grand scale which brings more glory.

Many clans dont consider you an adult until youve participated in successful hunts against both humans and xenomorphs.

They will most definitely side with humans in dire situations and to protect their hunting stock, and have even been known to be protective of unarmed women and children, so they would probably be much like the eldar.

An alien menace that has reported instances of helping humans but usually is going to kill you, skin you, and bleach your skill for glory.

Shadow Caste?